With the silver trophy tucked under one arm and her daughter Jada cradled in the other, Kim Clijsters completed her incredible return to tennis as she was crowned US Open champion overnight.

Never before had a curly-haired, blonde, 18-month-old toddler stolen the show at the Arthur Ashe Stadium but this was no ordinary day at Flushing Meadows. It was a day when the Belgian wild card Clijsters beat the Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3 to become the first mother to win a grand slam title since Evonne Goolagong achieved the feat almost three decades ago – at Wimbledon in 1980.

"We tried to plan her naptime a little bit later so she could be here today. It's the greatest feeling in the world, being a mother," a glassy-eyed Clijsters told the crowd after her remarkable comeback victory.

Wozniacki, who was trying to become the first Danish woman to win a grand slam singles title, said: "She's such a great girl. Unfortunately she beat me today. She played a great match and deserved this trophy."

A journey that began with the Belgian taking baby steps back into top-flight tennis only last month – following a two-year sabbatical – came full circle in just 35 days as she claimed her second US Open prize.

"Amazing. For her to have this incredible run is fantastic. This is a great story for women's tennis, that's for sure," said Roger Federer, who as the new father of twins will try to prove that dads too can rule the world when he takes on Juan Martín del Potro in the men's final later.

The contest was not a classic – with fortunes wildly fluctuating in a first set that featured seven breaks – but the tension was still palpable in a windy arena as almost 23,000 fans roared on Clijsters. Wozniacki took an early 4-2 lead in the first set but she surrendered the advantage with a double fault in the eighth game.

From them on, it seemed that the 26-year-old Clijsters could not be denied. At 5-3 in the second set, a driving a forehand into the corner brought up match point. On the next point, Clijsters narrowed her eyes as she saw the ball spin high into the air and raised her right arm to smash it over the other side of the net. Match point over, a tearful Clijsters sank to her knees in celebration, before heading into the stands to celebrate with family and friends.

"I don't have words for this. I'm just glad I got to come back and defend my title from 2005. It's so exciting for me," said Clijsters, who still does not own a ranking as her comeback is only three tournaments old.

"I have to thank the USTA for giving me the wild card to come back here. Just coming back here meant so much to me and seeing how warm everybody welcomed me and embraced me, just to be back was a great feeling.

"It definitely helped me to keep fighting and stay focused out there. Especially in the last few matches where the opponents became a lot more tougher."

No one can accuse Clijsters of having an easy ride at the Open as her road to the final included victories over both Venus and Serena Williams.

Job done and Jada was allowed to join her mother on one of the most famous tennis stages and complete the feel-good factor of the past fortnight as she played with the trophy before running helter-skelter on court.